Improvement in casters for furniture



v E. HOFFSTAETTER. Caster for Furniture.

No. 196,017. Patented Oct. 9, 1877.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNST HOFFSTAETTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN CASTERS FOR FURNITURE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 196,017, dated October 9, 1877; application filed April 18, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNST HOFFSTAETTER, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a-new and useful Improvement in Furniture-Casters, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 represents a vertical central section of a caster containing my improvement. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof in the plane of the line as m, Fig. 1.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

My improvement has reference to the construction of furniture-casters; and consists in acenter-pin which is provided with a head, and passed through acap plate which is adapted to be affixed to the lower end of a table-leg or other article of furniture, while on the lower part of said center-pin is arranged the roller-frame of the caster, through which frame, as well as through the said center-pin, is passed a transverse bolt, in such a manner that the roller-frame and center-pin are thereby firmly held together; also, in combining with the caster an anti-friction wheel, which is situated in an opening formed in the rollerframe, and mounted on the said transverse bolt, so as to form a bearing between the capplate and the roller-frame, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawing, the letter A designates the center-pin of my caster, on the upper end of which is formed a head, I), which, in the example shown, has a conical shape. B is a cap plate, through which thecenter-pin Ais passed,

and which is provided with a cavity in its upper suiface to receive the head I) of said pin. This cap-plate B, moreover, is provided with holes, so that it may be aflixcd to the lower end of a table-leg, or to any other article of furniture, by means of screws or rivets, and without materially weakening the leg.

When my caster is to be applied to a tableleg or other like article, a lateral flange or rim may be substituted for the holes in the capplate B, or added thereto, which said flange or rim is adapted to embrace the lower end of the leg.

The roller-frame of my caster is composed of a plate, 0, and a bracket, D, and it is mounted on the center-pin A through the plate 0. Now, the center-pin A and the plate 0 of the roller-frame are each provided with a transverse hole, through which is passed a bolt, E, the hole in the plate 0 being made to terminate a little beyond the center-pin A, on one side of the latter, and the bolt E being fastened at its inner end by means of a screwthread formed on the bolt and in said hole, as clearly shown.

It will be noticed that by means of the bolt E the roller-frame C D and the cap-plate B are held together, while they are moreover caused to turn with each other- In the plate 0 is formed an opening, a, which intersects the bolt E, and in this opening is situated an anti-friction wheel, F, which is mounted loosely on said bolt. The anti-friction wheel F is of such diameter that it bears against the under surface of the cap-plate B, and by its means the perfect working of the parts of my caster is insured.

In order to increase the effect of the antifriction wheel F, I arrange the same in a vertical plane with the axis of the roller G of the caster, as shown in Fig. 1.

One of the advantages of my caster is, that it is made without the usual socket, and hence does not weaken the table-leg or other article to which it may be applied. Another advantage is its simple construction and comparatively cheap cost.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a caster, of a centerpin, A, having a head, b, with a cap-plate, B, roller-frame O l), and a transverse bolt, E, passing through the center-pin, substantially as described.

2. The combination of an anti-friction wheel, F, with the transverse bolt E, and journaled thereon, the rollenframe O1), cap-plate B, and center-pin A, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 1 7th day of April, 1877.

ERNST HOFFSTAETTER. [L. s]

Witnesses:

J. VAN SANTVOORD, E. F. KASTENHUBER. 

